Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Abortion, Medieval Christianity, And The Christian Far-Right: The Harms Of Rhetoric And Misconstruing The Past, Madison Givens

Master's Theses

This research explores the intersection of abortion, Medieval Christianity, and the Christian far-right, with a focus on the harms of rhetoric and the misconstruing of history. The study argues that a selective reading of history is being used by the Christian far-right to justify violence against reproductive rights activists, including police brutality and mass shootings, as well as to promote forced sterilization and other forms of reproductive control. This thesis examines the harms of rhetoric and misconstruing the past in the abortion and medieval Christianity debate. By analyzing the role of language, symbols, and history in shaping the abortion debate …

We Need New Heroes: Tracing Heroic Masculinities From Homeric Epic To Contemporary Comic Cinema, Matthew Gallagher

Master's Theses

For as long as stories have been told, written, and performed heroes have been the measures of a culture. A people’s values, their fears, their hopes, their customs have all been preserved in the stories of their heroes, and in recent decades, I would argue, in the stories of their superheroes. Tracing modern depictions of cinematic superheroes back to some of the earliest extant narratives of heroes in Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, we see that most of our heroes in the past three millennia have been men. And in the modern explosion of superhero movies’ success and popularity, we see …

Why Is Race A Risk Factor For Infants Born With Birth Defects?: Deconstructing The Biological Basis Of Race In Maternal-Fetal Medicine Through The Lens Of Reproductive Justice, Amrita Bhagia

Master's Theses

Several studies have shown that marginalized populations, especially those of non-white race/ethnicity, have an increased risk of having infants born with severe birth defects. Existing hypotheses from the scientific literature on the topic of birth defects have primarily suggested that these trends may be the result of differential genetic susceptibilities within certain racial groups, a theory that reifies the (currently disproven) biological basis of race. Through this thesis, I argue that the myth of the biological basis of race continues to exist within maternal-fetal medicine today, where it is used to further the narrative that the bodies of women of …

Heteronormativity In Healthcare: Neoliberalism, Bio-Politics, And Necropolitics, Grace Avila

Master's Theses

This thesis will discuss heteronormativity in healthcare. It will take a social science and theoretical approach to acknowledge LGBTQ+ health disparities, apply theoretical approaches to why these disparities exist, and offer solutions to combat health disparities experienced by sexual and gender minorities. Neoliberalism, bio-politics, and necropolitics will be the theoretical approaches utilized to understand the basis of disparities experienced by the LGBTQ+ community. Neoliberalism will include themes of capitalism and public health policies which influence discrimination in healthcare. Bio-politics will outline how the intersection of the biological body and politics can exacerbate health disparities through the power of controlling bodies. …

Rethinking Intimacy: Liberation Through Decolonial & Queer World-Making, Michelle Mae Mcguire

Master's Theses

Relationships play an important role in both the private and public spheres of our lives. If we understand our bodies to be the vessels through which we interact with all other objects, we come to understand the process of world-making as a summation of our relationships. Intimacy is the prevailing structure that helps assign meaning to these relationships. Intimacy binds together unfixed spatial and social relations that stretch across time and space. This essay examines the three intersecting sets of relations involved in intimacy as a means to deconstruct heteropatriarchal order and highlight the multiplicity of attachments and relationships that …

Monstrous Feelings: Bisexuals, Vampires, & Ghosts, Oh My!, Jordan Lolmaugh

Master's Theses

Bisexuality is an identity and epistemology that has been underutilized across queer theory and sexuality studies. In an effort to bridge that gap, this thesis attempts to intertwine bisexuality theory with queer theory to highlight the theoretical strength they offer one another. Further, this paper examines the ways in which bisexuality haunts and is haunted by mononormativity, and the ways in which bisexuality is monstrous. Through the use of cinematic texts, queer theory, bisexual theory, and affect theory, I will examine how bisexuality functions as both an identity and a epistemological landscape. The primary questions that drive this research include: …

Stigmatization Of In Transit Migration And The Devaluation Of Humanitarian Aid Resource Labor, Gabriela Perez Laurent

Master's Theses

This analysis aims to gain insight into migrant stigmatization and the devaluation of humanitarian aid labor. Building off previous feminist scholarship on unpaid labor, this thesis seeks to add to our understanding of the dynamics of gendered devaluation of not only humanitarian volunteer labor, but also humanitarian aid support to stigmatized populations. The analysis expands on the production of illegalization and highlights the effects of stigmatization highlights the effects of stigmatization upon in transit populations on Tohono O'odham lands. Erin Hatton's framework of devaluation is applied to humanitarian aid distribution to analyze the devaluation of their labor due to proximity …

The Creation And Evolution Of Introductory Courses In Women's Studies Programs, Tori Kay Olson

Master's Theses

This study seeks to understand what affects knowledge production in introductory women's studies courses. Using critical discourse analysis, the study looks at the archives of two very different programs within the Chicago area. the two programs studied, Loyola University Chicago and University of Illinois€”Chicago, offer two different examples of how women's studies programs were created and evolved, and how this influenced the knowledge production in their introductory courses. in addition to the archival materials of these two universities, this study relies on various reports and accounts written by women's studies scholars during the same timeframe as the documented archival material …

Is It Because I'M Black Or A Woman? Constructing An Intersectional And Trauma-Informed Model Of Social Support, Moriah Lynn Johnson

Master's Theses

Inequality in the lives of Black women comes in many forms. As Kimberle Crenshaw observed, Black women experience inequality through the criminal (in)justice system, political and popular cultural representations that stereotype and exclude Black women and when accessing much needed social services (1991). As in the tradition of Black feminist scholars like Kimberle Crenshaw and Rose M. Brewer, this paper challenges stereotypical conceptions of Black womanhood within and outside of sociology, while proposing a relationship between the scholarship and social inequalities experienced by Black women. From this framework, I examine the inequalities Black women experience when accessing social services, consider …

Never Silent: Evolution Of Black Women's Anti-Rape Organizing, 1965 - 1985, Keisa Rochelle Reynolds

Master's Theses

Black women experience multiple oppressions due to their gender and their race, and those oppressions are expounded when other social identities, such as class and sexual orientation, are considered. There have been many instances in history of social movements in which black women have fought against the many issues they face. For the purpose of this project, I am looking specifically at 1965 - 1985 to examine the ways in which black women organized against white supremacy and sexual violence. The two forms of oppression would have led black women activists into different organizations for black liberation and women's liberation-- …

Feminist And Gay Male Politics: New Issues For Political Collaboration And Activism, Adam Hii

Master's Theses

This project looks at political collaboration between people who self-identify as gay men

and those who self-identify as feminists. These two groups have been political aligned on numerous issues since the 1970s. The goal of this project is to see on which issues that political collaboration will continue moving forward. This research draws extensively on oral interviews conducted with gay men and feminists, as well as the current work of national advocacy organizations to see where political interest is high, and where networks already exist to foster future advocacy efforts. By focusing on these areas, this project predicts which issues …

Afghan University Women Graduates Are Not Well-Represented In The Job Market In Afghanistan, Mohammad Kazem Shakib

Master's Theses

Higher education has been one of the prominent sectors in Afghanistan for the past decade. There has been a steady increase in the representation of women within the higher education system in the country. However, the growth of an educated workforce within the job market and the growth of the national economy have not been equal. A high number of university women graduates are jobless, employed in non-relevant professions, or working in part-time jobs like teaching in primary and secondary school.

This paper explores the contribution and representation of university women graduates in the economy of Afghanistan. Through a liberal …

I Am Relieved To Discover My Symptoms Are Normal For My Condition: An Analysis Of Two Irritable Bowel Syndrome Support Communities, Erin Hvizdak

Master's Theses

Symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), a "medically unexplained illness," are present in up to 20% of the United States population. Individuals experiencing symptoms of IBS often report that physicians dismiss their experiential and embodied knowledge, leading to a sense of isolation and frustration. Many of these individuals attempt to diminish isolation and also exchange their knowledge in a community setting. In order to enable a more complete understanding of IBS, a survey about community participation was sent to members of a large online support group for IBS located on Facebook, with 81 completed surveys received. Further, an open-ended questionnaire …

(Women's) Archival Spaces And Trans Voices? A (Re)Search And Proposal, Jeremy Curtis Main

Master's Theses

Transgender has been silenced, exiled, forgotten, erased, ignored, maltreated, killed, and ultimately, in a major theme of this research project, excluded from histories. Yet, like women, African-Americans, and gay men and lesbians before them, transgender and their allies are working toward inclusion and independence. History, it seems, can no longer ignore them. One of the surest ways to "prove" a history is to have the original items of that history in an archives. So, what representation do we find among various United States' archives concerning transgender people? Unfortunately, like with many other marginalized groups, much work has to be investigated …

Invisible Margin: Marginalization And Activism Of Adivasi Women In Researches In Bangladesh, Aanmona Priyadarshini

Master's Theses

In the context of historical marginalization of indigenous people from diverse ethnic communities in Bangladesh, this study will investigate how mainstream researches and writings, in books, research reports, newspapers, and blogs on indigenous issues have ignored women's relegation by homogenizing women's distinctive problems with communities' marginalization. The research will explore indigenous women's subordinations in diverse sphere of lives and activism against the power structure that mainstream researches have overlooked. The study will also investigate the possible pathways of solidarity to challenge the systems of power that create control over indigenous people's lives. Thus this research will explore following research questions: …

Ritual As Clinical Intervention In Groupwork With African American Women, Kathryn Kristin Berg

Master's Theses

This paper is an exploratory study on the subject of ritual as clinical intervention in groupwork with African American women. It is predicated on the idea that ritual has the potential to foster emotional growth in clients by creating structure and facilitating processes of transition. Ritual has largely been underexplored in the literature as a clinical intervention. However, there is a particular gap in research on ritual in groupwork with African American women. The first half of this paper provides an overview of social work scholarship covering individual branches of the subject, including spirituality in social work, spirituality in the …

Disturbing The Power Equilibrium: How Notions Of Private And Public Construct The Lesbian Educator In The American School System, Lillian Petrovich Brandt

Dissertations

Educational institutions are places permeated with the dominant social ideology and are sites for social reproduction; that is, the American school socially reproduces the white, male heteronormativity of the American public life. These dominant institutions perpetuate privilege for some, but not for others who are not represented in the dominant discourse. At times rendered invisible and private inside the school, a lesbian educator, may, in fact, be visible and public outside the school. There is a paucity of research on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) educators, yet queer educators exist in the school setting in which a "don't ask …

Redefining Sisterhood: The New Nuns, Laywomen And Catholic Feminist Activism, 1953-1992, Alexandra Elizabeth Michaelides

Dissertations

The involvement of American Catholic women in the feminist movement after 1960 is considered an anomaly. Yet, Catholic feminist activism thrived in large American cities like Chicago. This dissertation works to explain the origins, trajectory, methods, and eventual radicalization of the Catholic feminist movement in the United States. I argue that the events of the Second Vatican Council and the Sister Formation Movement (an organized effort to educate American nuns) set the stage for unprecedented reforms, brought an excitement and optimism to women religious and laywomen, and led to unintended revolutionary consequences. Nuns and laywomen were optimistic that the church …

The Color(S) Of Perfection: The Feminine Body, Beauty Ideals, And Identity In Postwar America, 1945-1970, Elizabeth M. Matelski

Dissertations

Throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, a number of models have existed offering women a spectrum of ideal body types and varying opinions about the role of fitness and diet in achieving these forms. In the years following World War II, prescriptive literature, Hollywood, and popular culture in general created and perpetuated the postwar feminine ideal of "the Sweater girl" - a busty, curvaceous figure more sexual than maternal. Yet, this ideal gave way in little more than a decade. In the late 1960s, youth culture placed a cult-like status on Twiggy, a model with a 31-inch bust and 32-inch …

Images Of God, Imago Dei And God's Relationship With Humanity Through The Image Of Mary's Breast Milk: A Focus Upon Sor María Anna Águeda De San Ignacio (1695-1756), Neomi Dolores Deanda

Dissertations

This dissertation presents an original contribution to the academic field of Theology, specifically Constructive Theology, because it begins the retrieval work of a woman's voice from seventeenth and eighteenth century Mexico, an entire area of historical and theological thought which has been globally under-explored. Analysis of María Anna Águeda de San Ignacio's eighteenth century original publications give a glimpse into this woman's official authority during her time, which also presents a historical woman's voice who has held ecclesial authority.

This project engages María Anna Águeda de San Ignacio's work to draw theological insights and further expand understandings about notions of …

Storied Memories: Memory As Resistance In Contemporary Women's Literature, Sarah Katherine Foust Vinson

Dissertations

This dissertation examines the power for resistance contained within narratives of personal memory. By applying current psychological concepts of autobiographical memory theory to eight contemporary women's novels, Carole Maso's The Art Lover; Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale; Dorothy Allison's Bastard Out of Carolina; Edwidge Danticat's Breath, Eyes, Memory; Barbara Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible; Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things; Gloria Naylor's The Women of Brewster Place; and Toni Morrison's Paradise, I argue that it is in literature that we can examine both the workings of memory and the ways that authors use concepts of memory in their works to …